Express Library Service opening day at Westover; photo by Library Director Diane Kresh.
It's been exactly one month since Express Library Service opened at the Shirlington and Westover Branches!
Since then, more than 16,000 items have been checked out at our Express Libraries, and 60 percent of the items checked out have been children’s material.
As of April 13, in-person browsing at Express Library locations has increased to 30 minutes, for 30 people.
We are excited by the opportunity this new service has given us to welcome Arlington readers back into the Library, and grateful for your support and patience over the past year.
As we continue to expand services and offerings to the community, we have some exciting updates to share.
Coming Soon
- With warmer weather ahead, look for The Truck at more outdoor community events.
- We’ll soon hold outdoor story times (limited capacity and safety measures will be in place).
- Summer Reading starts June 1! Look for more info coming soon.
The Library’s Partnership & Outreach team visited AFAC and other neighborhood organizations for National Library Week 2021.
Looking Ahead to FY2022
The Library will hire new staff this spring, in order to begin opening more locations this summer.
- Community health metrics are not the driving factor in regard to opening additional locations and services. The County has been under a hiring freeze for more than one year. Libraries cannot open additional locations or services with current staffing levels.
- The County Manager recently approved exceptions to this hiring freeze for Libraries with a goal to reopen additional locations as soon as possible in FY 2022, which begins on July 1, 2021.
COVID-19 Friendly Programs and Services for You
While we continue to bring in-person Library services back, our online events and socially-distanced programs and services are designed to serve your needs:
- Holds Pickup — Get your books from Central Library.
- Express Library Service — Browse the collection in person at our Shirlington and Westover branches.
- Arlington Reads — Watch monthly, thought-provoking author talks.
- Storytime Channel — Dive into our fun YouTube channel.
- Digital Magazines — Subscribe to thousands of magazines online using Libby from OverDrive.
We look forward to seeing you online, and reconnecting with you at the Library!
We value your feedback. Tell us what you think about our Library services. We will read and consider all comments.
